The politics of aid
I wrote , over the weekend, on a new study by Institute of Development Studies economist Andy Sumner on the monumental shift in what is defined as global poverty from Low Income Countries (LICs) to...
View ArticleHow much do we know about how much we know?
Last week, I wrote about new data on GDP at Purchasing Power Parity which suggests that China’s economy may have overtaken the US in size in 2010, and that India’s GDP at PPP is bigger than previously...
View ArticleFreedom and its cost
On my recent ten-day break from work, the only events that I followed closely were the ones unfolding in Cairo's Tahrir Square . From a development standpoint, one of the most thought-provoking pieces...
View ArticleThe revolution according to the World Bank
This is a quick update to my last post, 'Freedom and its Cost' , which argued that even though democratization may not prove to be an economically profitable move, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t...
View ArticleRevenue foregone, but not forgiven
Since 2006, the Union government has been publishing a ‘Statement of Revenue Foregone’ as part of the union budget documents. In the interest of greater transparency, this document lists the special...
View ArticleThe New Centre of the World
Among the people I find most interesting in the world of development data are data visualisers: economists, statisticians and political scientists who present data in ways that radically change the way...
View ArticleThe loneliness of the long-term forecaster
For anyone curious about the United Nations' global population projections that I wrote about today ( here and here ), you can browse through the fascinating full database . Fertility in India is...
View ArticleWhy I think the success of the RTI is a problem
There's a lot of Big Questions and Big Answers floating around in the development world. Me, I'm more interested in the mechanism through which a particular intervention has an impact. So if the Right...
View ArticleMissing the target?
Ever had a friend or relative who is perfectly normal until a particular topic of conversation – very small dogs, or the Maharashtra Ranji team, or the AIIMS flyover public art – comes up, and then...
View ArticleBig questions, small answers
Ahead of my interview with Profs Abhijit V Banerjee and Esther Duflo (which you can read here ), I thoroughly enjoyed reading their new book, Poor Economics . It was engaging, packed with data and...
View ArticleConsumption and conspiracy
Some times, the best part of working on a story is realising that there’s a good reason why something doesn’t work, and that armchair criticism is so often too glib. I started out last week with the...
View ArticlePDS: Reform or Reject?
Some interesting findings emerging on the Public Distribution System. A recent study of 100 villages in nine states says that leakages in the Public Distribution System are being plugged and diversion...
View Article"Let's count the poor. But first, here's the answer."
The 2011 BPL census is under way, using a brand new set of criteria to count the number of people in the country who fall below the new poverty line. The results of the census will give us the number...
View ArticlePolitics determines development
The newly released Human Development Report 2011 is disappointingly low on new data, but I appreciate how it squarely lays out distinct outcomes for each social group. It’s pretty pointless talking...
View ArticleMortality and humanity
Apologies for my prolonged absence. In my defence, I was, among other things, getting married. But I'm back now, with my freshly minted new year's resolution to blog more regularly. To kick things off,...
View ArticleTies that bind
At the core of the UK’s outrage over India’s decision to go with the French Rafale jet instead of the British Typhoon - despite the fact that it gives 280 million GBP in aid to India every year - is a...
View ArticleMotherhood in the two Indias
I have a new piece out on immigration numbers, but I’m going to talk about an older story , partly because the hateful comments on my new story make me despair of humanity, and partly because I love...
View ArticleChange, beyond religion
The first episode of Aamir Khan’s new show on social issues has happily revived discussion on sex-selective abortions in India. Over at the India Real Time blog, blogger and economist Rupa Subrahmanya...
View ArticleThe Himachal paradox, and the working woman mystery
Official employment and unemployment figures for 2011-12 are out and from the initial reactions to my brief piece , I can see that Gujarat’s, and by extension, Narendra Modi’s, record at job creation...
View ArticleArun Jaitley's Illegals
The distinguished lawyer Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, is often regarded as one of the more moderate leaders of the BJP and usually stays away from the rabble-rousing that...
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